Merge comb inspection apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

A head disc merge assembly for merging an actuator with a disc stack, the actuator assembly having a flexure supporting a data transducer head and the disc stack having a disc, the head disc merge assembly including a merge comb having a flexure support member to support the flexure at a predetermined elevation with respect to the disc while positioning the data transducer head on the disc. A merge comb inspection station is provided having an edge detector device for determining selected dimensional values of the merge comb, and a comparator determines whether the merge comb effects clearing engagement of the actuator with the disc stack prior to each merge cycle.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 60/401,677 filed Aug. 7, 2002 entitled Method and Apparatus ForInspecting Merge Comb.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The claimed invention relates generally to disc drive datastorage devices and more particularly to an apparatus and method forautomatically inspecting a merge comb for a disc drive.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Disc drives are digital data storage devices that store andretrieve large amounts of user data in a fast and efficient manner. Thedata are magnetically recorded on the surfaces of one or more rigid datastorage discs affixed to a spindle motor for rotation at a constant highspeed. The discs and spindle motor are commonly referred to as a discstack.

[0004] The disc stack is accessed by an array of vertically aligned datatransducer heads that are controllably positioned by an actuatorassembly. Each head typically includes electromagnetic transducer readand write elements that are carried on a fluid bearing slider. The fluidcan be air or alternatively a fluid such as helium. The slider acts in acooperative hydrodynamic relationship with a thin layer of fluid draggedalong by the spinning discs to fly each head in a closely spacedrelationship to the disc surface.

[0005] In order to maintain the proper flying relationship between theheads and the discs, the heads are attached to and supported by flexiblesuspension assemblies, also called flexures. An actuator motor,typically a voice coil motor (VCM), rotates the actuator assembly tocause the heads to move across the disc recording surfaces. The actuatorassembly is also referred to as a head stack assembly (HSA). Both thedisc stack and the head stack assembly are mounted to and supported by arigid base deck of the drive.

[0006] Disc drives are typically manufactured using high volumeautomated assembly lines. In a typical automated line, the drives areassembled on pallets conveyed to various assembly stations, each stationadding a different set of components to, or performing a differentoperation on, the drives.

[0007] One such station commonly found in a typical automated assemblyline is a head disc merge station in which a head stack assembly ismerged with a disc stack. “Merge” in this context refers to theinsertion and positioning of the heads into the disc stack, that is,positioning the heads between and adjacent to the discs in their finalassembled relationship.

[0008] In some merge stations the head stack assembly and the disc stackare merged, following which the merged head stack assembly and discstack are together mounted to the base deck. In other merge stations,the sequence of assembly is to mount the disc stack to the base deck;mount the head stack assembly to the base deck with the heads at aposition outside the outermost diameter of the disc stack; and rotatethe head stack assembly to merge the heads into the disc stack.

[0009] Typically, at the conclusion of a merge operation, the heads arepositioned near an innermost diameter of the disc stack, resting againsttextured landing zones on the disc surfaces. The landing zones providereduced stiction forces between the heads and discs to allow the headsto safely park during non-operation of the drive.

[0010] A latching arrangement secures the head stack assembly when theheads are parked to prevent the heads from inadvertently contacting thedata recording surfaces in response to the application of a mechanicalshock to the drive, since allowing the heads to contact the datarecording surfaces when the discs are not rotating can damage the drive.

[0011] It is thus necessary to support the heads above the respectivedisc surfaces during the merge operation as the heads are positioned inthe final park position. Some have proposed applying power to thespindle motor to rotate the discs and powering the actuator motor sothat the heads are supported by disc rotation fluid bearings during themerge operation. Usually, however, the merge operation is performed withstationary discs and while the heads are supported as the heads areadvanced to the park position.

[0012] Head stack assemblies are typically purchased from a head stackassembly manufacturer and are provided with removable shipping spacers.The shipping spacers are comb-like structures that support the flexuresto protect the heads from inadvertent contact with each other andprevent deformation of the flexures during shipping and handling.

[0013] During a typical merge operation, a merge comb, or mergespreader, is inserted into the head stack assembly at the merge stationto provide appropriate spacing between the heads. The spacer comb isremoved once the merge comb engages the flexures and the heads areadvanced to the final park position.

[0014] Usually, the merge comb supports the flexures and the heads asthe heads are moved from the outermost diameter of the discs to theinnermost diameter of the discs in such a manner that contact isprevented between the disc stack and either the merge comb or head stackassembly until the merge comb releases the heads in the final parkposition. Once the heads are parked, the merge comb is retracted and themerge operation cycle is completed.

[0015] The merge combs can become bent or otherwise damaged. Thus, ithas been necessary to implement an inspection routine to minimize oravoid the damage that occurs with unwanted contact between the mergecomb and the disc stack. Otherwise, expensive rework or componentreplacement is risked.

[0016] Some merge comb inspection methods include go/no go gages appliedby an assembly operator prior to the merge operation cycle. This is timeconsuming, as well as being subjective to operator judgment. Anothermerge comb inspection method is that of removing the merge comb from themerge station and subjecting the merge comb to traditional inspectionroutines. Again, however, this latter mentioned merge inspection methodis time consuming. Any improved quality from the methods comes at thecost of reduced production rates.

[0017] There is therefore a continuing need for an accurate and fastmethod and apparatus to inspect a head disc merge comb to avoid damageto disc stacks, and to address other limitations associated with thecurrent state of the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0018] In accordance with preferred embodiments, an apparatus and methodare provided to merge a head disc merge assembly for merging a discstack assembly with a disc stack, the head stack assembly having atleast one flexure supporting a data transducer head and the disc stackhaving at least one disc with a data storage surface.

[0019] The head disc merge assembly has a merge comb with a merge armwhich engages and supports the flexure at an elevation determined toestablish a clearing relationship between the head and the disc as theflexure and head are moved adjacent the disc storage surface. A mergecomb inspection device is provided to inspect the merge arm, betweeneach merging cycle, measuring same to assure the existence of adequateclearing relation between the merge arm and the disc stack.

[0020] The merge comb is configured to position the head at a texturedlanding zone on the data storage surface, and upon retraction of themerge comb, to place the head in its park position. Further, the mergecomb inspection device has an edge detector and means moving the mergecomb relative to the edge detector to inspect selected dimensions of themerge comb. A comparator, responsive to the edge detector, determineswhether the merge comb has clearing engagement the disc stack inaccordance with predetermined specifications. Preferably, the comparatorsends the inspection determinations to a visual monitor to providenotification as to an in specification (spec) or out of specificationcondition of the merge comb.

[0021] The method of the claimed invention is generally directed tosteps including the actuator assembly being moved to a head disc mergeassembly station at which is a merge comb with a merge arm for engagingand supporting the flexure at an elevation sufficient to establish aclearing relationship between the head and the disc as the datatransducer head is moved adjacent the data storage surface.

[0022] The merge comb is moved to an inspection station where selecteddimensional values are determined, and these dimensional values arecompared to nominal values to determine whether acceptable merge combelevations will be effected. If so, the step of aligning and engagingthe merge comb and the actuator assembly follow, after which the mergecomb and actuator are moved to merge the actuator assembly with the discstack.

[0023] If unacceptable merge comb elevations are determined in thecomparing step, the merge comb is replaced and the replacement mergecomb is subjected to the inspecting and comparing steps until acceptablemerge comb elevations are found, following which the step of aligningand engaging the merge comb and the actuator assembly follows, and themerge comb and actuator are moved to merged the actuator assembly withthe disc stack.

[0024] These and various other features and advantages whichcharacterize the claimed invention will become apparent upon reading thefollowing detailed description and upon reviewing the associateddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025]FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a disc drive constructed inaccordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention.

[0026]FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the actuator assembly of the discdrive of FIG. 1 having a shipping spacer thereon, the shipping spacerprotecting the actuator assembly during shipping and handling prior toinstallation into the disc drive.

[0027]FIG. 3 is an elevational, partial cross-sectional view of theactuator assembly and the shipping spacer of FIG. 2.

[0028]FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a merge comb that is used to mergethe actuator assembly with the disc stack of the disc drive of FIG. 1 inaccordance with preferred embodiments.

[0029]FIG. 5 is a partial elevational view of the merge comb of FIG. 4.

[0030]FIG. 6 is a flow chart that is generally illustrative of the stepsof a head disc and disc stack merge operation. FIG. 6A is a flow chartshowing a head disc and disc stack merge operation having a head discmerge assembly station, and which is constructed in accordance withpreferred embodiments of the present invention.

[0031]FIGS. 7 through 10 show the disc stack and actuator assembly atvarious stages of a head disc merge operation.

[0032]FIG. 11 is a diagrammatical representation of a merge inspectionstation constructed in accordance with preferred embodiments of thepresent invention.

[0033]FIG. 12 is a view of the screen of a readout monitor of the mergeinspection station of FIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034]FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a disc drive 100 constructed inaccordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention. A basedeck 102 and a top-cover 104 (partially cutaway in this view) cooperateto form a sealed housing for the disc drive 100. A spindle motor 106 issupported by the base deck 102 and serves to support and rotate a numberof magnetic recording discs 108 at a constant, high speed.

[0035] The discs 108 are stacked on a rotatable hub of the spindle motor106 in a conventional fashion using suitable spacers and clampingelements (not separately designated). The spindle motor 106, discs 108,spacers and clamping elements collectively form a disc stack 109.

[0036] An actuator assembly 110, also called a head stack assembly or anHSA, includes a central body 112 configured to rotate about a cartridgebearing assembly 114 affixed to the base deck 102. A number of rigidactuator arms 116 extend from the central body 112 into the disc stack109. Flexible suspension assemblies 118, also called flexures, extendfrom the arms 112 to support an array of data transducer heads 120.

[0037] While a single disc 108 and attendant data transducer heads 120can be used, it is contemplated for purposes of the present discussionthat the disc drive 100 includes a plurality of discs 108 and datatransducer heads 120. Actuator arms 1116 support the data transducerheads 120, with the top actuator arm 116 extending above the disc stack109, as shown in FIG. 1, and the bottom actuator arm 116 extending belowthe disc stack 109. Each of the intermediary actuator arms 116, whichextend between the discs 108, supports two flexures 118 and two datatransducer heads 120.

[0038] The actuator assembly 110 is pivotally moved through theapplication of electrical current to a coil 122 of a voice coil motor(VCM) 124. When in a non-operational state, as shown in FIG. 1, theactuator assembly 110 is latched in a parked position by a toggle latch126 and the data transducer heads 120 contact textured landing zones 128(denoted by broken line) defined on the disc surfaces near the innermostdiameters of the discs 108.

[0039] A flex circuit assembly 129 passes electrical signals between thehead stack assembly 110 and a disc drive printed circuit board 131, alsoreferred to as a PCB, and which supports communication and controlelectronics for the disc drive 100. The PCB 131 in FIG. 1 is mounted tothe underside of the base deck 102.

[0040]FIG. 2 shows the actuator assembly 110 of FIG. 1 prior toinstallation onto the base deck 102. A vendor usually provides theactuator assembly 110 with a shipping spacer 130 to protect it fromdamage during shipping and handling. As shown in FIG. 3, the shippingspacer 130 includes a main body portion 132 that extends along and issupported by the top surface of the top actuator arm 116. First andsecond alignment posts 134, 136 extend upwardly from the main bodyportion 132 as shown for manipulation of the shipping spacer 130. Analignment peg 138 extends downwardly from the first alignment post 134and is inserted into a tooling bore 140 in the central body 112 of theactuator assembly 110.

[0041] The shipping spacer 130 further includes spacer members 142(shown partially cut-away in FIG. 3) that extend between adjacent pairsof the flexures 118 to support the flexures in a desired spacedrelationship. A spacer support arm 144 that extends downwardly from themain body portion 132 supports the spacer members 142. Actuator arm clipmembers 146 (also shown partially cut-away) are supported by a clipsupport arm 148 and are positioned to pressingly engage the intermediaryactuator arm 116 as shown. A shipping spacer alignment tab 150 projectsfrom a distal end of the main body portion 132 and is engaged during themerging of the actuator assembly 110 with the disc stack 109 for thepurpose explained below.

[0042] A merge comb 160, also referred to as a merge tool or a mergespreader, is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Preferably, a robotic arm, notshown in these figures, is connected to the merge comb 160 to merge theactuator assembly 110 with the disc stack 109. The merge comb 160includes a main body portion 162 and a number of rigid merge arms 164that extend from the main body portion 162, and when a shipping spacer130 is present, an upper merger arm 165 extends from the main bodyportion 162 substantially parallel to the top merge arm 164. Eachintermediate merge arm 164 supports a pair of flexure support fingermembers 166, as shown, while each of the upper and lower merge arms 164supports a single flexure support tooth member 166.

[0043] A top merge arm 165 supports an alignment body portion 168 thatdefines a U-shaped channel 170, which is sized to accommodate theshipping spacer alignment tab 150 (FIG. 3). The alignment tab 150 andthe channel 170 are preferably configured with appropriate beveled edgesto allow precise alignment and passage of the alignment tab 150 into andthrough the channel 170 during the merge operation. The shipping spacer130 and the merge comb 160 are sometimes collectively referred to as amerge assembly.

[0044]FIG. 6 is a flow chart for a head disc merge operation 200 carriedout as will now be described. Initially, a disc stack (such as the discstack 109) is provided at step 202 and an actuator assembly (such as theactuator assembly 110) with a shipping spacer (such as the shippingspacer 130) is provided at step 204.

[0045] The disc stack 109 and the actuator assembly 110 will generallyhave a respective orientation at this point as shown in FIG. 7, with thedata transducer heads 120 at a position beyond the outermost diameter ofthe disc stack 109. The disc stack 109 and the actuator assembly 110 arepreferably mounted to the base deck 102 at this time. However, this isnot limiting since the merge operation can alternatively be carried outprior to attachment of the actuator assembly 110 and the disc stack 109to the base deck 102.

[0046] Continuing with the flow chart of FIG. 6, at step 206, a mergecomb (such as the merge comb 160) is advanced to align with the actuatorassembly 110 and the shipping spacer 130, as shown in FIG. 8.Preferably, a robotic arm 208 (shown in partial cross-section) isaffixed to the main body 162 of the merge comb 160, and the robotic arm208 serves to advance the merge comb 160.

[0047] The alignment of the actuator assembly 110 and its shippingspacer 130 with the merge comb 160 during step 206 results in theinsertion of the shipping spacer alignment tab 150 into the merge combalignment channel 170, and the placement of the flexure support members142 into respective positions to support the flexures 118 as illustratedby FIG. 9.

[0048] The elevation of the merge comb 160 is preferably controlled withrespect to the measured elevation of the disc stack 109 so that, as theshipping spacer alignment tab 150 is passed into the merge combalignment channel 170, the elevational orientation of the shippingspacer 130 places the flexures 118 in alignment with the flex supportfinger members 166 and with the discs 108.

[0049] In this way, damage is averted as flex support finger members 166of the merge comb 160 are brought into appropriate alignment with thediscs 108. The flexures 118, typically made of spring steel, can bedeformed beyond their elastic limit should the distal ends of the flexsupport finger members 166 mechanically interfere with the edges of theflexures 118. Severe damage can occur if the flex support finger members166 fail to pass as intended along the sides of the respective flexures118. Also, once the flex support finger members 166 correctly align andsupport the flexures 118, it is important that subsequent advancement ofthe merge comb 160 into the disc stack 109 occur without contact betweenthe data transducer heads 120 and the discs 108. The material anddimensions of the merge comb 160 is preferably selected to ensure properalignment of the channel 170 with the alignment tab 150, therebymaintaining the desired relative alignment of the flex support fingermembers 166.

[0050] Continuing with the flow chart of FIG. 6 at step 210, the mergecomb 160 is next used to advance the data transducer heads 120 to thedesired final park position, as shown in FIG. 10. As the merge comb 160is advanced beyond the orientation shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the shippingspacer 130 will come into contact with the outer edges of the discs 108,and the shipping spacer 130 will be moved aside by the outer edges ofthe discs 108, as shown in FIG. 10.

[0051] More particularly, the clip members 146 of the shipping spacer130 will disengage from the intermediary actuator arms 116, the flexuresupport members 142 will disengage from the flexures 118, and thealignment tab 150 will pass through the channel 170. The alignment peg138 (FIG. 3) remains engaged in the tooling bore 140, and the shippingspacer 130 will remain outside the perimeter of the disc stack 109 whilethe actuator assembly 110 pivots to the park position, shown in FIG. 10.

[0052] With the merge operation completed, the latch 126 is caused tosecure the actuator assembly 110 in the parked position, and the mergecomb 160 is retracted at step 212 of FIG. 6. If desired, the mergeoperation can be performed while the disc stack 109 is not attached tothe base deck 102; in such a case, the actuator assembly 110 can besupported in a fixed position during the merging process by a suitablefixture that need not be described herein.

[0053] As the flex support finger members 166 pull away from theflexures 118, the spring forces imparted by the flexures 118 will causethe data transducer heads 120 to be pressed into abutment with thelanding zones 128. The shipping spacer 130 is then removed from theactuator assembly 110 at step 214 and the merge routine is completed asindicated at step 216.

[0054] Turning now to FIG. 11, shown therein is an automatic mergeinspection station 220 constructed in accordance with preferredembodiments of the present invention. The merge inspection station 220depicts the merge comb 160 mounted on a vertical slide 222 and attachedto a ball screw 224 driven by a servomotor 226. It will be understoodthat other structure will be required for appropriately supporting themerge comb 160 to rotate it in a horizontal plane as describedhereinabove and as illustrated in FIGS. 7, 8 and 10; however, it issufficient for the present teaching to refer to the diagrammaticalrepresentation of FIG. 11 for the vertical movement of the merge comb160.

[0055] The merge inspection station 220 has an edge detector means 228that forms an edge or surface detecting boundary 230. The edge detectormeans 228 can be one or more conventional photoelectric devices, eachhaving an emitter and a receiver, or any equivalent device that emitsand forms a detecting boundary, and which provides a signal to acomparator 232 when traversed by a physical member.

[0056] In the present instance, as the merge comb 160 is moved past thedetector means 228, the finger members 166 passing the detectingboundary of the edge detector means 228 that provides transitionreadings in the form of electrical signals to the comparator 228. Asdesired, the comparator 228 can have a circuit with a microprocessorhaving stored therein acceptable values of the merge inspection station220 that are necessary for the merge comb 160 to be consideredacceptable for the merging operation. Preferably, however, it issufficient that the edge detector means 228 provide signals responsiveto the emitter transitions as the finger members 166 traverse thedetecting boundary 230, and together with travel distance input from theservomotor 226, the precise dimensional values of each of the flexuresupport finger member 166 can be determined. The relative position, orelevation, of each flexure support finger member 166 can then bedetermined by the comparator, and a calculation is made to determinewhether the flexure support finger members 166 and the supporting mergerarms 164 have retained their dimensional values within specificationtolerances.

[0057] The dimensional values generated by the comparator 232 responsiveto the edge detector means 228 can be fed to a visual readout monitor234. FIG. 12 shows a screen readout 240 that has a merge comb profilefield 242, which preferably conforms to the actual profile of the mergecomb 160. The screen readout can be programmed to change the merge combprofile 232 to exhibit any number of profiles to be configured asrepresentative of the tool being monitored by the merge inspectionstation 220.

[0058] The screen readout 230 also has a stacked array of arrow fields246, each such arrow field pointing to an edge of one of the flexuresupport fingers 166 members represented in the merger comb profile field242. A stacked array of target dimensions fields 248 and ajuxtapositoned, stacked array of actual dimensions fields 250 areprovided.

[0059] Displayed within the target dimensions fields 248 are the maximumdimensional values, or elevational locations of, the corresponding edgesof each of the flexure support finger members 166 of the merge comb 160.Displayed within the actual dimensions fields 250 are the actualmeasured dimensional values, or the elevational locations of, thecorresponding edges of each of the flexure support finger members 166 ofthe merge comb 160.

[0060] When the measured dimensional values are displayed in the actualdimensions fields 250, the programming is determined to illuminate thearrow fields 246, such as at arrow field 247, that correspond tounacceptable conditions, thereby publishing notification of an out ofspec condition and information of which flexure support finger members.166, if any, are out of spec. Preferably, when the comparator 232determines that the inspected merge comb 160 deviates from an acceptednominal, it will also initiate an appropriate sound alarm and shut downthe merging operation by an appropriate circuit (not shown).

[0061] Once the merging operation is halted due to a finding of anunacceptable merge comb, the out of spec merge comb 160 can be removedand replaced with another merge comb 160. As will be made clear frombelow, the merge operation will not proceed until the replacement mergecomb 160 is then found to meet the programmed specification by the mergeinspection station 220.

[0062] A flow chart showing a head disc merge operation 300 carried outaccording to preferred embodiments of the present invention is shown inFIG. 6A. As with the above described merge operation 200 (FIG. 6), thedisc stack (such as the disc stack 109) is provided at step 202 and anactuator assembly (such as the actuator assembly 110) with a shippingspacer (such as the shipping spacer 130) is provided at step 204. Asabove, there are applications in which a shipping spacer may not bepresent, and as such, the presence or absence of a shipping spacer willhave no bearing on the merge inspection station 220.

[0063] The disc stack 109 and the actuator assembly 110 will generallyhave a respective orientation at this point as shown in FIG. 7, with thedata transducer heads 120 at a position beyond the outermost diameter ofthe disc stack 109. The disc stack 109 and the actuator assembly 110 arepreferably mounted to the base deck 102 at this time. However, this isnot limiting since the merge operation can alternatively be carried outprior to attachment of the actuator assembly 110 and disc stack 109 tothe base deck 102.

[0064] Continuing with the flow chart of FIG. 6A, the merge comb 160 isinspected as indicated at step 302 by the merge inspection station 220in the manner described hereinabove. As indicated at step 304, if themerge comb 160 does not pass inspection at the merge station 220, thedefective merge comb 160 is replaced at step 306. The replacement mergecomb 160 is then moved vertically to the merge inspection station 220for inspection as indicated at step 302. If the replacement merge comb160 passes inspection as at step 304, the replacement merge comb 160 isadvanced at step 206 to align with the actuator assembly 110 (FIG. 8) bythe robotic arm 208. It will be understood that an occasionalreplacement merge comb 160 will not pass the inspection of step 302, buteach replacement comb is subjected to the inspection step 302, and themerging operation 300 will not proceed until a replacement merge comb160 is determined to be acceptable.

[0065] The alignment of the actuator assembly 110 and the shippingspacer 130 with the merge comb 160 during step 206 results in theinsertion of the shipping spacer alignment tab 150 into the merge combalignment channel 170, and the placement of the flexure support members142 into respective positions to support the flexures 118 (FIG. 9). Theshipping spacer alignment tab 150 enters the merge comb alignmentchannel 170, the elevational orientation of the shipping spacer 130having been adjusted to place the flexures 118 in an appropriatealignment with the flex support finger members 166 and with the discs108.

[0066] As mentioned above, prior inspection of the merge comb 166 beforeeach merge insertion cycle assures that potential damage is averted asthe flex support finger members 166 of the merge comb 160 are broughtinto appropriate alignment with the discs 108. That is, mechanicalinterference is avoided between the flexures 118 and the discs 108, assubsequent advancement of the merge comb 160 into the disc stack 109will occur without contact between the data transducer heads 120 and thediscs 108.

[0067] Continuing with the flow chart of FIG. 6A at step 210, the mergecomb 160 is next used to advance the data transducer heads 120 to thedesired final parked position (FIG. 10). As the merge comb 160 isadvanced beyond the orientation shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the shippingspacer 130 will come into contact with the outer edges of the discs 108,and the shipping spacer 130 will be moved aside by the outer edges ofthe discs 108.

[0068] More particularly, the clip members 146 of the shipping spacer130 will disengage from the intermediary actuator arms 116; the flexuresupport members 142 will disengage from the flexures 118; the alignmenttab 150 will pass through the channel 170; and the shipping spacer 130will remain outside the perimeter of the disc stack 109 while theactuator assembly 110 pivots to the parked position.

[0069] With the merge operation completed, the latch 126 is caused tosecure the actuator assembly 110 in the parked position, and the mergecomb 160 is retracted at step 212 of FIG. 6A. As mentioned above, themerge cycle can be performed, if desired, on the disc stack 109 whileunattached to the base deck 102 by supporting the actuator assembly 110in an appropriate fixture.

[0070] As the flex support finger members 166 pull away from theflexures 118, the spring forces imparted by the flexures 118 will causethe data transducer heads 120 to be pressed into abutment with thelanding zones 128. The shipping spacer 130 is then removed from theactuator assembly 110 at step 214 and the merge routine is completed asindicated at step 216.

[0071] It is to be understood that even though numerous characteristicsand advantages of various embodiments of the present invention have beenset forth in the foregoing description, together with details of thestructure and function of various embodiments of the invention, thisdetailed description is illustrative only, and changes may be made indetail, especially in matters of structure and arrangements of partswithin the principles of the present invention to the full extentindicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which theappended claims are expressed. For example, the particular elements mayvary depending on the particular application of the merge compinspection apparatus and method without departing from the spirit andscope of the present invention.

[0072] In addition, although the embodiments described herein aregenerally directed to a merge comb inspection apparatus and method forthe manufacture of a disc drive data storage device, it will beappreciated by those skilled in the art that the merge comb inspectionapparatus and method can be used for other types of data storage systemswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A head disc merge assembly station for merging anactuator assembly with a disc stack, the actuator assembly having aflexure supporting a data transducer head and the disc stack having adisc with a data storage surface, the head disc merge assemblycomprising: a merge comb having a merge arm engaging and supporting theflexure at an elevation sufficient to establish a clearing relationshipbetween the head and the disc as the data transducer head is movedadjacent the data storage surface; and a merge comb inspection device,wherein the merge arm is measured to determine the clearing relationshipbetween the merge arm and the disc stack.
 2. The head disc mergeassembly of claim 1, wherein the merge comb inspection device comprises:an edge detector; and means for moving the merge comb relative to theedge detector to determine selected dimensions of the merge comb;comparator means for determining whether the merge comb has clearingengagement the disc stack.
 3. The head disc merge assembly of claim 2,wherein the merge comb inspection station further comprises: a readoutmonitor to provide notification of an out of specification condition ofthe merge comb.
 4. The head disc merge assembly of claim 3, wherein themerger arm has a flexure support finger member at one end thereof, theflexure support finger member configured to engage and position theflexure as the merge comb is moved toward the flexure.
 5. The head discmerge assembly of claim 4, wherein the merge comb is configured to placethe data transducer head at a textured landing zone on the data storagesurface, thereafter to retract to a position beyond an outermostdiameter of the data storage surface, the data transmission headremaining on the landing zone.
 6. The head disc merge assembly of claim5, wherein the merge comb inspection device is positioned to measure therelative elevation between the merge comb and the disc stack when themerge comb is at the retract position.
 7. A merge assembly for mergingan actuator assembly with a disc stack, the actuator assembly having atleast one flexure supporting a data transducer head and the disc stackhaving a disc with data storage surfaces, the merge assembly comprising:a merge comb having a flexure support member to support the flexure at apredetermined elevation with respect to the data storage surfacesufficient to allow the flexure support member to be advanced whilepositioning the data transducer head in clearing relationship betweenthe head and the disc as the head is moved adjacent the data storagesurface; and a merge comb inspection station comprising: edge detectormeans for determining selected dimensions of the merge comb; andcomparator means receiving the selected dimensions, the comparator meansdetermining whether the merge comb has clearing engagement with the discstack.
 8. The head disc merge assembly of claim 7, wherein the mergecomb inspection station further comprises: a readout monitor to providenotification of an out of specification condition of the merge comb. 9.The merge assembly of claim 8, wherein the flexure support member hasone end thereof configured to engage and position the flexure as themerge comb is moved toward the flexure.
 10. The merge assembly of claim9 wherein the edge detector means comprises: an edge detector forming anedge detecting boundary; positioning means for moving the merge combrelative to the edge detector so that the flex support member traversesthe edge detecting boundary, the edge detector generating edge positionsignals proportional to the selected dimensions of the merge comb. 11.The merge assembly of claim 10 wherein the positioning means is furthercharacterized as aligning the merger comb with the disc stack, movingthe data transmission head to a position over a textured landing zone onthe data storage surface and thereafter moving the merger comb to aretract position beyond an outermost diameter of the data storagesurface, the data transmission head remaining on the landing zone.
 12. Amerger inspection station for determining the spacing of flexure supportmembers of a merge comb comprising: edge detector means for determiningselected dimensional values of a merge comb used to separate andposition the flexure support members during an assembly process;comparator means for comparing the dimensional values againstpredetermined nominal selected values; and readout monitor means fordisplaying the results of the comparator means.
 13. The merge inspectionstation of claim 12, wherein the edge detector means comprises: an edgedetector forming a surface detecting boundary; and positioning means formoving the merge comb relative to the edge detector so that the flexsupport members traverse the edge detecting boundary, the edge detectorgenerating surface position signals proportionate to the selecteddimensional values.
 14. The merge inspection station of claim 13,wherein the positioning means is further characterized as comprising analigning the merge comb with discs so that the flexure support memberscan selectively traverse the surfaces of the discs.
 15. A method ofmerging an actuator assembly with a disc stack, the actuator assemblyhaving a flexure supporting a data transducer head and the disc stackhaving a disc with a data storage surface, the method comprising: (a)passing the actuator assembly to a head disc merge assembly stationhaving a merge comb with a merge arm for engaging and supporting theflexure at an elevation sufficient to establish a clearing relationshipbetween the head and the disc as the data transducer head is movedadjacent the data storage surface; (b) moving the merge comb to aninspection station; (c) measuring selected dimensional values of themerge comb; (d) comparing the selected dimensional values to nominalvalues to determine one of acceptable merge comb elevations orunaccepted merge comb elevations; (e) if acceptable merge combelevations are determined, aligning and engaging the merge comb and theactuator assembly; and (f) moving the merge comb to merge the actuatorassembly with the disc stack.
 16. The method of claim 15 whereinunaccepted merge comb elevations are determined in the comparing step,and further comprising the steps of: (g) replacing the merge comb with areplacement merge comb; (h) repeating steps (b) through (f).
 17. Thehead disc merge assembly of claim 15, wherein following step (d) themethod further comprising: displaying the results from step (d) on areadout monitor to provide visual notification of an out ofspecification condition of the merge comb.
 18. The head disc mergeassembly of claim 17, wherein the merger arm has a flexure supportfinger member at one end thereof, the flexure support finger memberconfigured to engage and position the flexure as the merge comb movesthe actuator assembly.
 19. The head disc merge assembly of claim 18,wherein the merge comb is configured to place the data transducer headat a textured landing zone on the data storage surface and thereafter toretract to a position beyond an outermost diameter of the data storagesurface, the data transmission head remaining on the landing zone. 20.The head disc merge assembly of claim 19, wherein the merge combinspection device is positioned to measure the relative elevationbetween the merge comb and the disc stack when the merge comb is at theretract position.